Flatnotes vs nb Notes
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Flatnotes
Self-hosted, database-less note-taking web app
VS
nb Notes
Command-line note-taking, bookmarking, and archiving tool
| Feature | Flatnotes | nb Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Vue | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,230 | ★ 8,410 |
| First released | 2021 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Simplenote | Evernote, Notion |
What are Flatnotes and nb Notes?
Flatnotes
Flatnotes is a self-hosted web application for taking notes, with a focus on simplicity and storing all notes as flat Markdown files. It has no database and keeps notes easy to back up and access.
- Flat Markdown file storage
- No database required
- Full-text search
- Clean minimal interface
nb Notes
nb is a command-line and local web tool for plain-text note-taking, bookmarking, and archiving with Git-backed versioning and syncing. It works entirely in the terminal and supports encryption.
- Plain-text notes and bookmarks
- Git-backed sync
- Optional encryption
- Tagging and search
Flatnotes vs nb Notes: key differences
Flatnotes is written in Vue, while nb Notes is built with Shell. Licensing differs — MIT for Flatnotes versus AGPL-3.0 for nb Notes. Nb Notes is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Flatnotes. Nb Notes is the more established project (first released 2019), while Flatnotes arrived in 2021. Nb Notes has the considerably larger community, at 8,410 GitHub stars versus 3,230. Flatnotes lists first-class Docker deployment; nb Notes does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Flatnotes if…
- Trivial to back up
- Very lightweight
Watch out for
- Basic feature set
- Single-user oriented
Choose nb Notes if…
- Powerful for terminal users
- Versioned with Git
Watch out for
- Command-line only
- No graphical client
Frequently asked questions
Is Flatnotes or nb Notes better?
Neither is universally better. nb Notes has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Flatnotes and nb Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Flatnotes is licensed under MIT and nb Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Flatnotes and nb Notes with Docker?
Flatnotes: yes. nb Notes: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Flatnotes or nb Notes?
nb Notes has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Flatnotes. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.